UNIVERSITY  OF   CALIFORNIA 

COLLEGE   OF   AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL    EXPERIMENT   STATION 

BERKELEY,    CALIFORNIA 


SERIES  ON  CALIFORNIA  CROPS  AND  PRICES 


APRICOTS 


H.   R.  WELLMAN 


BULLETIN  423 

May,  1927 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PRINTING  OFFICE 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

1927 


APRICOTS 

H.  E.  WELLMANi 


SUMMARY 


The  commercial  production  of  apricots  in  the  United  States  is 
practically  confined  to  California.  The  outstanding  developments  in 
the  apricot  industry  in  this  state  during  the  past  two  decades  have 
been  (1)  a  comparatively  small  increase  in  production,  (2)  a  slight 
increase  in  relative  purchasing  power,  and  (3)  a  substantial  increase 
in  bearing  acreage  since  1918. 

The  average  increase  in  the  commercial  production  of  apricots  in 
California  during  the  period  from  1909  to  1926  amounted  to  only 
3  per  cent  a  year,  which  is  small  as  compared  with  the  increase  in  the 
production  of  many  of  our  fruits. 

This  comparatively  small  increase  in  production  was  not  sufficient 
to  cause  a  decline  in  relative  purchasing  power  because  the  demand 
for  apricots  increased  more  than  the  supply.  As  a  result  growers  are 
normally  able  to  buy  slightly  more  of  other  commodities  with  the 
money  they  receive  for  a  ton  of  apricots  today  than  they  were  five, 
ten,  or  fifteen  years  ago.  This  situation  is  unusual.  Apricot  growers 
have  felt  the  agricultural  depression  less  than  most  farmers. 

The  relatively  high  prices  received  for  apricots  as  compared  with 
other  commodities  has  been  an  important  cause  for  the  rapid  expan- 
sion in  apricot  acreage.  Between  1918  and  1926  the  bearing  acreage 
of  apricots  increased  83  per  cent.  This  substantial  increase  in  bearing 
acreage  has  not  as  yet  resulted  in  a  corresponding  increase  in  produc- 
tion, because:  (1)  a  relatively  large  proportion  of  the  trees  listed  as 
bearing  have  not  yet  reached  the  age  of  maximum  bearing;  and  (2) 
the  newer  plantings  were  more  generally  made  in  sections  less  favor- 
able to  high  production.  Unfortunately  we  have  no  exact  measure- 
ment of  the  influence  of  each  factor.  The  available  evidence,  however, 
indicates  that  the  first  factor  mentioned  has  been  the  most  important 
cause  of  the  failure  of  production  to  keep  pace  with  the  increase  in 
bearing  acreage.  Consequently  there  will  probably  be  a  substantial 
increase  in  production  during  the  next  few  years. 


1  Extension  Specialist  in  Agricultural  Economics. 


4  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

The  bulk  of  the  California  crop  has  a  three-way  outlet:  it  may 
be  dried,  canned,  or  shipped  fresh.  The  proportion  of  the  crop 
utilized  in  these  three  ways  depends  largely  on  the  prices  offered, 
and  the  possibility  of  increasing  or  decreasing  the  supply  of  each 
brings  the  prices  of  them  into  close  adjustment. 

There  has  been  an  increase  in  the  output  of  each  of  the  three  kinds 
of  apricots  during  the  past  18  years.  The  percentage  increase  in  the 
output  of  canned  apricots,  however,  has  been  over  seven  times  as  great 
as  that  of  dried  apricots  and  almost  twice  as  great  as  that  of  fresh 
shipments.  The  tendency  towards  an  increased  utilization  of  the 
apricot  crop  in  canning  is  clearly  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  percent- 
age of  the  commercial  crop  canned  increased  from  18  per  cent  in 
1909-1913  to  30  per  cent  in  1922-1926.  On  the  other  hand,  the  per- 
centage of  the  commercial  crop  dried  decreased  from  80  per  cent  in 
1909-1913  to  67  per  cent  in  1922-1926.  Although  the  interstate  ship- 
ments of  fresh  apricots  increased  both  absolutely  and  relatively  during 
this  period,  they  are  still  of  minor  importance,  amounting  to  only 
3  per  cent  of  the  crop. 

The  consumption  of  fresh  apricots  in  the  United  States  can  prob- 
ably be  increased  provided  an  attractive,  palatable  product  is  placed 
on  the  many  small  markets.  At  the  present  time  the  bulk  of  the 
interstate  shipments  of  fresh  apricots  is  sold  in  the  few  large  auction 
markets,  primarily  because  the  extreme  perishability  of  fresh  apricots 
makes  it  necessary  to  handle  them  quickly.  An  increase  in  the  present 
limited  distribution  depends  chiefly  upon  future  improvements  in 
harvesting,  packing,  and  refrigeration  methods.  There  is  no  immedi- 
ate prospect,  however,  that  the  markets  for  fresh  apricots  can  be 
sufficiently  widened  to  provide  an  outlet  for  any  substantial  increase 
in  production.  Even  if  it  were  possible  to  find  profitable  markets 
for  double  the  present  interstate  shipments,  they  would  provide  an 
outlet  for  only  an  additional  5,000  tons,  or  a  total  of  6  per  cent  of 
the  present  production.  Consequently  the  largest  part  of  the  expected 
increase  in  production  will  probably  have  to  be  marketed  through 
the  canned  and  dried  channels. 

The  markets  for  canned  apricots  in  the  United  States  can  probably 
be  expanded.  During  the  past  twenty  years  the  demand  for  canned 
apricots  has  increased  substantially,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
purchasing  power  for  canned  apricots  has  increased  slightly  despite 
an  increase  of  over  200  per  cent  in  the  pack.  Furthermore,  at  the 
present  time  the  per  capita  consumption  of  canned  apricots  is  small, 
amounting  to  only  0.55  of  a  pound  in  equivalent  of  the  fresh  product. 


BUL.  423]  APRICOTS  5 

It  does  not  seem  likely,  however,  that  the  canned  market  can  be 
expanded  sufficiently,  at  the  present  level  of  values,  to  provide  an 
outlet  for  the  bulk  of  the  probable  increase  in  apricot  production. 
The  increasing  output  of  other  canned  fruits,  such  as  peaches,  pine- 
apples, and  pears,  will  increase  the  present  keen  competition. 

The  dried  apricot  markets,  although  they  take  two-thirds  of  the 
crop  at  the  present  time,  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  increase  in 
commercial  production.  The  United  States  is  not  a  dried-apricot- 
consuming  nation.  Although  the  total  per  capita  production  of  dried 
apricots  is  small,  amounting  to  only  one-third  of  a  pound,  over  one- 
half  is  exported.  It  does  not  seem  likely  that  consumers  in  the  United 
States  can  be  induced  to  eat  any  greatly  increased  quantity  of  dried 
apricots  unless  prices  are  reduced  or  unless  the  public  taste  changes. 

The  possibility  of  marketing  a  much  larger  quantity  of  dried 
apricots  in  foreign  countries  is  not  at  present  encouraging.  Foreign 
countries  are  buying  as  large  a  quantity  of  dried  apricots  from  the 
United  States  as  before  the  war,  but  no  larger.  This  constitutes  a 
smaller  percentage  of  the  crop.  Prior  to  the  war  68  per  cent  of  the 
dried  output  was  exported  as  compared  to  53  per  cent  during  the 
past  five  years. 

Three  of  the  four  most  important  foreign  markets,  Germany,  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  France,  are  buying  a  smaller  quantity  of  dried 
apricots  at  the  present  time  than  before  the  war.  During  the  five-year 
period  from  1910  to  1914,  these  three  countries  received  almost  70 
per  cent  of  our  total  exports  as  compared  with  less  than  half  of  our 
exports  during  the  past  five  years.  Fortunately  this  loss  has  been 
replaced  by  increased  exports  to  Netherlands,  Denmark,  Sweden, 
Norway,  and  Canada. 

Any  substantial  increase  in  exports  depends  largely  upon  the 
recovery  of  European  countries  from  the  post-war  depression.  The 
present  evidence  indicates  that  the  purchasing  power  of  European 
countries  is  increasing.  However,  it  is  doubtful  if  this  increase  will 
be  sufficiently  rapid  within  the  next  few  years  to  provide  an  outlet 
for  greatly  increased  exports  at  the  present  level  of  values.  Further- 
more, the  increased  demand  for  our  apricots  may  be  in  part  offset  by 
the  increasing  competition  of  apricots  from  Australia  and  the  Union 
of  South  Africa. 

What  of  the  Future? — Apricot  acreage  is  increasing.  Production 
will  be  substantially  higher  when  the  present  acreage  comes  into  full 
bearing.  There  is  no  immediate  prospect  that  this  probable  increase 
can  be  absorbed  at  the  relatively  high  price  level  that  apricots  now 


6  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

occupy.  Consequently  growers  should  expect  decreased  returns  in  the 
future  unless  they  are  able  to  improve  the  quality  of  their  apricots 
or  produce  them  at  lower  costs.  Those  who  can  not  make  these  im- 
provements and  who  have  not  made  satisfactory  profits  in  the  past 
should  give  careful  attention  to  alternative  enterprises.  The  fortunate 
monopoly  which  California  enjoys  does  not  warrant  any  great  increase 
in  plantings.  If  additional  acreage  is  planted,  it  should  be  upon  land 
adapted  to  the  crop  and  in  climatic  zones  favorable  to  it.  Growers 
on  marginal  land  must  compete  with  others  who  produce  apricots  at 
a  relatively  low  cost.  In  the  future  apricot  producers  are  likely  to 
feel  the  pinch  of  competition  more  than  they  have  in  the  past. 

TABLE  1 

Apricots — Number  of  Trees,  Bearing  and  Non-Bearing,  by  States,  192.0 


Number  of  trees 

Total  acreage 

Average  number 
of  bearing  trees 

State 

Bearing 

Non-bearing 

Total 

Acres* 

Per  cent 

per  farm 
reporting 

3,688,217 
47,608 
39,464 
20,845 
21,830 
7,348 
7,957 
12,811 

1,243,706 
13,000 
4,072 
7,745 
435 
4,024 
1,437 
9,783 

4,931,923 
60,608 
43,536 
28,590 
22,265 
11,372 
9,394 
22,594 

61,649 
756 
544 
357 
278 
142 
117 
283 

96.1 
1.2 
0.9 
0.6 
0.4 
0.2 
0.2 
0.4 

238.2 

55.6 

48.0 

12.9 

Utah 

43.0 

5.0 

12.6 

Others 

7.9 

Total 

3,846,080 

1,284,202 

5,130,282 

64,126 

100.0 

*  Trees  converted  to  acres  on  basis  of  80  trees  per  acre. 

Sources  of  data:  Fourteenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  vol.  5,  p.  868.    1920. 


THE  GENERAL  SITUATION 


California's  Place  in  the  Apricot  Industry. — Almost  all  of  the 
United  States  acreage  of  apricots  is  in  California.  The  apricot  acre- 
age in  the  United  States  in  19203  amounted  to  aproximately  64,000 
acres,  of  which  96  per  cent  was  in  California  (table  1).    The  remain- 

2  Acknowledgment :  The  author  of  this  circular  wishes  to  express  his  thanks 
and  indebtedness  to  the  following  organizations  which  have  generously  contributed 
from  their  data  and  their  time:  The  California  Cooperative  Crop  Eeporting  Ser- 
vice, Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics,  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture; Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce,  United  States  Department  of 
Commerce;  Division  of  Agricultural  Economics,  University  of  California;  Califor- 
nia Prune  and  Apricot  Growers  Association;  California  Fruit  Exchange;  Califor- 
nia Cooperative  Canneries;  California  Packing  Corporation;  Libby,  McNeill,  and 
Libby;  Eosenberg  Bros,  and  Co.,  Guggenhime  and  Co.,  and  H.  C.  Eowley,  Cali- 
fornia Fruit  News. 

s  Apricots  are  not  reported  in  the  1925  U.  S.  Census  of  Agriculture. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


ing  4  per  cent  of  the  acreage  was  widely  distributed.  The  1920  Census 
reports  apricot  trees  in  33  states  other  than  California.  Only  6  of 
these  33  states,  Washington,  Arizona,  Oklahoma,  Utah,  Texas,  and 
Kansas,  had  more  than  100  acres  each.  The  other  27  states  had  a 
combined  acreage  of  only  283  acres.  A  comparison  between  the  total 
acreage  per  state  and  the  average  number  of  bearing  trees  per  farm 
(table  1)  indicates  that  of  the  33  states  other  than  California,  only  3, 
Washington,  Arizona,  and  Utah,  are  of  any  commercial  importance 
in  the  production  of  apricots.  In  the  other  states,  the  small  acreage 
together  with  the  small  number  of  bearing  trees  per  farm  indicates 
that  this  crop  is  grown  almost  entirely  for  home  or  local-market 
consumption. 


Acreage   of   Eight  Deciduous-Tree   Fruits,    California,    1926    (Bearing   and 
Non-Bearing,  1925  Plantings  Included) 

1000  Acres 
80  120 


D 40 80 120 160 200 


Acres  0_ 
Prunes     197999 
Peaches    177782^ 
Apricots   101400*| 

91695 


Pears 

Apples 

Figs 

Plums 

Cherries 


70007 
61093 
41616 
17245 


v////////////////////////////)y//A 


7////////////////////////A 


W/////////////////M 


W///////////A 


*  Revised  figure. 

Fig.  1.— -Apricots  rank  third  in  total  acreage  among  the  important  competing 
deciduous-tree  fruits  in  California. 

Data  from  California  Crop  Report,   1925,  p.  31. 


Importance  of  Apricots  in  California. — The  total  acreage  devoted 
to  apricot  production  in  California  in  1926  amounted  to  101,400  acres. 
Of  the  deciduous-tree  fruits  that  compete  more  or  less  directly  with 
apricots — only  two — prunes  and  peaches— had  a  larger  acreage,  while 
five — pears,  apples,  figs,  plums,  and  cherries — had  a  smaller  acreage 

(flg.i). 

Between  1918  and  1926  the  bearing  acreage  of  apricots  increased 
83  per  cent.  During  this  period  only  two  of  the  eight  important 
deciduous-tree  fruits — figs  and  pears — experienced  a  greater  per  cent- 


y  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

age  increase  in  bearing  acreage  than  apricots,  while  five  of  them — 
plums,  prunes,  cherries,  apples,  and  peaches4 — show  a  smaller  per- 
centage increase  (fig.  2).  The  total  bearing  acreage  of  these  eight 
fruits  increased  from  352,000  acres  in  1918  to  555,000  acres  in  1926, 
an  increase  of  203,000  acres,  or  58  per  cent. 


Eelative  Increase  in  Bearing  Acreage  of  Eight  Deciduous-Tree  Fruits  in 
California  from  1918  to  1926 


Bearing  Acres  Per  cent  rt 
1918       1926  increaaaH 


25 


125 


150 


175 


Figs 

8700  36100 

505 

Pears 

22400  55500 

148 

Apricots 

40900  75000* 

85 

Plums 

17500  50200 

75 

Prunes 

105000  160500 

56 

Cherries 

8600  11600 

55 

Apples 

45600  65600 

28 

Psaohss 

107600  151500 

22 

Total 

552100  655000 

58 

*  Revised  figure. 

'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^m 


1ffi%^%^m%zzmfflz%2& 


Y////////////////ZZ7, 


mm////m 


vzmz\ 


mm 


wz& 


Fig.  2. — Of  the  important  deciduous-tree  fruits  in  California,  two  have  ex- 
perienced a  greater,  and  five  have  experienced  a  smaller,  percentage  increase  in 
bearing  acreage  during  the  past  eight  years  than  apricots. 

Data  from  California  Crop  Report,  1925,  p.  32. 


Distribution  of  Apricot  Acreage  in  California. — The  distribution 
of  the  total  apricot  acreage  in  California  in  1927,  exclusive  of  1926 
plantings,  is  shown  in  figure  3.  Although  apricots  are  grown  in  47 
of  the  58  counties  in  the  state,  the  large  producing  areas  are  confined 
to  comparatively  few  counties.  One-half  of  the  total  acreage  in  1927 
was  in  the  five  counties  of  Santa  Clara,  Ventura,  Riverside,  Stanislaus, 
and  San  Benito,  while  Santa  Clara  County  alone  had  19  per  cent  of 
the  total.  The  combined  acreage  in  the  twenty-one  counties  listed  in 
figure  3  amounted  to  92,262  acres,  or  93.5  per  cent  of  the  total.  The 
acreage  in  each  of  the  other  twenty-six  counties  was  relatively  small. 
Only  five  of  the  twenty-six  counties  contained  more  than  500  acres 
each,  while  fourteen  of  them  contained  less  than  100  acres  each. 


*  The  bearing  acreage  of  peaches  declined  during  the  first  part  of  this  period, 
reaching  the  low  point  of  101,000  acres  in  1921;  since  1921  it  has  increased  rapidly. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


Apricot  Acreage,  California,  1927  (Bearing  and  Non-Bearing) 


County —  Acres 

Santa    Clara   18,848 

Ventura     11,460 

Riverside  7,518 

Stanislaus   6,109 

San  Benito  5,293 

Los   Angeles    4,875 

Tulare   4,163 

Solano   3,996 

Alameda    3,526 

Kings     ..„ 3,403 

Fresno  2,665 

Yolo  2,594 

Merced    2,591 

San  Bernardino  ....  2,566 

Contra    Costa    2,298 

Santa  Cruz  2,125 

Kern    1,915 

Madera    1,874 

Monterey  1,780 

Glenn     1,360 

San  Joaquin  1,303 

Other  Counties  6,41< 

Total   98,681 


Each  dot  represents  100  acres. 


Per 
cent 
19.1 
11.6 
7.6 
.2 
5.4 
4.9 
4.2 
4.1 
3.6 
3.5 
2.7 
2.6 
2.6 
2.6 
2.3 
2.2 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.4 
1.3 
6.5 

100.0 


Data  compiled  from  table  10. 


Fig.  3. — Although  apricots  are  grown  in  forty-seven  of  the  fifty-eight  counties 
in  the  state,  the  large  producing  areas  are  confined  to  a  comparatively  few 
counties. 


10 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


Of  the  98,681  acres  of  apricots  in  California  in  1927,  exclusive 
of  1926  plantings,  80,724  were  in  bearing  and  17,957  were  not  in 
bearing.  The  relative  distribution  of  the  80,724  bearing  acres  is 
shown  in  figure  4.  Santa  Clara  is  the  leading  apricot  producing 
county  at  the  present  time,  followed  by  Ventura,  Riverside,  Stanislaus, 
and  San  Benito  in  the  order  named.  Over  one-half  of  the  total  bear- 
ing acreage  in  the  state  in  1927  was  in  these  five  counties. 


Percentage  of  California's  Bearing  Apricot  Acreage  in  Main 
Apricot-Producing  Counties,  1927 


Fig. 
counties. 


80724   100.0 

— Over  one-half  of  California's  bearing  apricot  acreage  is  in  five 
Data  from  table  10. 


By  grouping  the  counties  by  districts5  we  find  that  approximately 
37  per  cent  of  the  bearing  acreage  is  in  the  coast  district,  28  per  cent 
in  southern  California,  24  per  cent  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  and 
10  per  cent  in  the  Sacramento  Valley. 

The  bearing  acreage  of  apricots  in  California  increased  from 
58,369  acres  in  1921  to  80,724  acres  in  1927,  an  increase  of  22,355 
acres,  or  38.3  per  cent.  In  analyzing  this  increase,  it  is  desirable  to 
know  how  many  acres  have  come  in  or  gone  out  of  bearing  in  each  of 
the  important  apricot-producing  counties  and  the  relative  rapidity 
of  the  changes. 

6  The  counties  included  in  the  various  districts  are  given  in  table  10. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


11 


Absolute  Increase  or  Decrease  in  Bearing  Acreage  of  Apricots  in  Main 
Apricot-Producing  Counties  in  California  from  1921  to  1927 


o    ° 


I 

11.11. 


-5 


•  10 


U      r-t  O 


CO  IO 
rj<  CM 
CM         CM 


U  U  U 

s    >    *s 
o     «     a 


§    9 

CO        K> 


£         < 


Fig.  5. — Almost  one-half  of  the  total  increase  in  bearing  acreage  since  1921 
has  occurred  in  the  three  counties  of  Santa  Clara,   Stanislaus,  and  San  Benito. 

Data  from  table  10. 


Figure  5  shows  the  absolute  changes  in  the  bearing  acreage  in  the 
twenty  most  important  apricot-producing  counties.  Four  (Monterey, 
Fresno,  Alameda,  and  Los  Angeles)  of  these  twenty  counties  had  a 
smaller  bearing  acreage  in  1927  than  -in  1921.  Each  of  the  other 
sixteen  counties  has  experienced  an  increase.  The  increases  in  Santa 
Clara,  Stanislaus,  and  San  Benito  counties  were  particularly  large. 
Approximately  47  per  cent  of  the  total  increase  in  the  state  occurred 
in  these  three  counties. 


12 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


Each  of  the  four  main  districts  in  the  state  had  a  larger  bearing 
acreage  in  1927  than  in  1921.  Of  the  total  increase  in  the  state  of 
22,355  bearing  acres,  43  per  cent  occurred  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley, 
35  per  cent  in  the  coast  district,  11  per  cent  in  the  Sacramento  Valley, 
and  10  per  cent  in  southern  California.  As  compared  to  the  total 
bearing  acreage  in  the  state,  the  coast  district  and  the  Sacramento 
Valley  had  approximately  the  same  proportion  in  1927  as  in  1921,  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley  had  7  per  cent  more,  and  southern  California 
7  per  cent  less. 


Percentage  Increase  or  Decrease  in  the  Bearing  Acreage  of  Apricots  in  the 
Main  Apricot-Producing  Counties  in  California  from  1921  to  1927 


125 

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Fig.  6. — The  three  counties  of  Merced,  Madera,  and  Stanislaus,  located  in  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley,  have  experienced  the  greatest  percentage  increase  in  bearing 
acreage  of  apricots  since  1921. 

Data  from  table  10. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


13 


The  relative  changes  in  bearing  acreage  by  counties  are  shown  in 
figure  6.  Merced  County  has  experienced  the  largest  percentage 
increase  during  the  past  six  years ;  Madera,  Stanislaus,  Contra  Costa, 
Tulare,  San  Benito,  and  Kern  follow  in  the  order  named.  The  bearing 
acreage  in  each  of  these  seven  counties  has  more  than  doubled  since 
1921.  Nine  of  the  other  thirteen  counties  listed  in  figure  6  have  also 
experienced  an  increase  in  bearing  acreage,  the  increase  ranging  from 
5  per  cent  in  Solano  County  to  92  per  cent  in  Yolo  County. 

The  percentage  increases  in  bearing  acreage  since  1921  in  the 
principal  apricot-producing  districts  are  as  follows:  San  Joaquin 
Valley,  95  per  cent;  Sacramento  Valley,  45  per  cent;  coast  district, 
35  per  cent;  and  southern  California,  11  per  cent. 

Percentage  of  California's  Non-Bearing  Apricot  Acreage  in  Main 
Apricot-Producing  Counties,  1927 


Total 


Fig.  7. —  During  recent  years  large  plantings  of  apricots  have  been  made  in 
Ventura,  Santa  Clara,  and  Biverside  counties. 

Data  from  table  10. 


Figure  7,  which  gives  the  non-bearing  acreage  by  counties  in  1927, 
shows  the  location  of  recent  plantings  of  apricots.  A  comparison  of 
this  figure  with  figure  4,  page  10,  shows  that  recent  plantings  have 
generally  been  made  in  counties  which  already  contained  a  large 
acreage  of  apricots.     Some  important  exceptions,  however,  should  be 


14 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


noted.  Contra  Costa  County  is  fourth  in  non-bearing  acreage  but 
nineteenth  in  bearing  acreage.  On  the  other  hand,  Alameda  County 
is  ninth  in  bearing  acreage,  but  nineteenth  in  non-bearing  acreage. 
Glenn,  Colusa,  and  Sacramento  counties,  located  in  the  Sacramento 
Valley,  are  sixth,  ninth,  and  twelfth,  respectively,  in  non-bearing 
acreage,  but  are  not  even  listed  in  the  twenty  most  important  counties 
in  bearing  acreage. 


Batio  of  Non-Bearing  to  Bearing  Apricot  Acreage,  Main  Apricot-Producing 
Counties,  California,  1927 
200 


160 


120 


80 


40 


Fig.  8. — The  percentage  increase  in  bearing  acreage  during  the  next  few  years 
is  likely  to  be  greatest  in  the  counties  in  which  the  ratio  of  non-bearing  to  bearing 
acreage  is  high. 


Data  from  table  10. 


Approximately  31  per  cent  of  the  non-bearing  acreage  is  in  the 
coast  district,  29  per  cent  in  southern  California,  24  per  cent  in  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley,  and  16  per  cent  in  the  Sacramento  Valley. 
Southern  California  and  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  each  contain  about 
the  same  percentage  of  the  total  non-bearing  acreage  as  they  do  of 
the  total  bearing  acreage,  but  the  coast  district  contains  6  per  cent 
less,  and  the  Sacramento  Valley  6  per  cent  more,  of  the  total  non- 
bearing  acreage  than  of  the  total  bearing  acreage. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


15 


Figure  6,  page  12,  shows  the  relative  changes  which  have  taken 
place  in  the  bearing  acreage  in  the  20  most  important  apricot- 
producing  counties  during  the  past  5  years.  Figure  8,  which  gives  the 
number  of  non-bearing  acres  for  each  100  bearing  acres,  furnishes 
some  indication  of  the  probable  relative  changes  in  these  twenty 
counties  during  the  next  few  years.  It  seems  likely  that  the  per- 
centage increase  in  bearing  acreage  will  be  greatest  in  such  counties 
as  Madera,  Contra  Costa,  and  Kern,  in  which  the  ratio  of  non-bearing 
to  bearing  acreage  is  high,  and  that  the  percentage  increase  will  be 
small,  or  that  there  may  even  be  a  decrease  in  those  counties  in  which 
this  ratio  is  low. 


Bearing  Acreage  of  Apricots  in  California,  1914-1927,  and  Forecast  of 
Bearing  Acreage,  1928-1930 


S 


8 


1000 
900 
800 
700 
600 
500 
400 
300 
200 
100 
0 


Bearing  Acres 

Forecast  o-f  Bearing  Acres 


niiiiiiiiiiiiir 


Fig.  9. — The  bearing  acreage  of  apricots  in  California  is  increasing  rapidly. 
Data  from  California  Cooperative  Crop  Reporting  Service. 

The  ratio  of  non-bearing  to  bearing  acreage  by  districts  is  as 
follows :  Sacramento  Valley,  36 ;  southern  California,  23 ;  San  Joaquin 
Valley,  22;  and  the  coast  district,  18.  These  ratios  indicate  that  the 
greatest  percentage  increase  in  bearing  acreage  during  the  next  few 
years  will  be  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  the  smallest  percentage 
increase  in  the  coast  district. 


16  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

For  the  state  as  a  whole  approximately  15  non-bearing  acres  are 
required  to  maintain  a  hundred  acres  in  bearing.  The  ratio  of  non- 
bearing  to  bearing  acres  in  1927  was  22,  which  indicates  that  there 
will  be  a  substantial  increase  in  bearing  acreage  during  the  next  few 
years.  The  amount  of  increase  in  each  of  the  three  years  of  1928, 
1929,  and  1930,  as  estimated  by  the  California  Cooperative  Crop 
Reporting  Service,  is  shown  by  the  shaded  bars  in  figure  9.  It  is 
estimated  that  there  will  be  approximately  93,900  bearing  acres  of 
apricots  in  1930  or  13,200  acres  more  than  at  present. 

The  absolute  changes  in  the  bearing  acreage  of  apricots  in  the  state 
during  the  past  fourteen  years  are  shown  by  the  solid  black  bars  in 
figure  9.  Between  1915  and  1918  the  bearing  acreage  remained  prac- 
tically stationary  at  around  40,000  acres.  Beginning  in  1919  and 
continuing  to  the  present  time  bearing  acreage  has  increased  steadily. 
In  1927  there  were  approximately  twice  as  many  acres  of  apricots  in 
bearing  as  in  1918. 

Commercial  Apricot  Production,  California. — The  commercial  pro- 
duction6 of  apricots  in  California  from  1909  to  1926  is  shown  by  the 
upper  curve  in  figure  10.  The  general  trend  of  production  during 
this  period  has  been  upward.  The  normal  yearly  increase,  as  based 
upon  the  line  of  trend,  amounted  to  approximately  3000  tons.  The 
percentage  increase  in  apricot  production  has  been  somewhat  more 
than  that  of  the  United  States'  population,  but  much  less  than  the 
percentage  increase  in  the  production  of  many  California  fruits.  The 
direction  of  the  trend  of  production  is  largely  within  the  control  of 
the  growers ;  a  decrease  in  planting  will  normally  cause  it  to  increase 
less  rapidly  or  to  decline,  an  increase  in  planting  will  normally  cause 
it  to  increase  more  rapidly.  The  fluctuations  in  production  from  year 
to  year,  however,  are  much  less  capable  of  control,  since  they  are 
caused,  in  the  main,  by  variations  in  climatic  conditions.  Apricots 
bloom  early  and  are  therefore  subject  to  damage  by  frost.  Particu- 
larly dry  years,  such  as  occurred  in  1924,  tend  to  reduce  yields. 
Heavy  rains  in  the  spring  and  summer  favor  the  development  of 
brown  rot  at  ripening  time.  It  will  be  noted  in  figure  10  that  the 
fluctuations  in  production  are  relatively  large,  the  average  fluctuation 
for  the  eighteen-year-period  being  21  per  cent. 

The  lower  curve  in  figure  10,  representing  the  bearing  acreage 
of  apricots,  enables  one  to  compare  the  changes  in  the  bearing  acreage 
with  the  changes  in  apricot  production.    Between  1910  and  1918  bear- 

s  Commercial  production  as  used  in  this  publication  includes  only  the  dried  and 
canned  outputs  and  the  fresh  interstate  shipments.  Accurate  estimates  of  the 
amount  of  fresh  apricots  consumed  within  the  state  are  not  available;  see  page  30. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


17 


ing  acreage  increased  only  slightly.  During  the  same  period  pro- 
duction increased  somewhat  more  than  bearing  acreage,  probably 
because  a  larger  proportion  of  the  trees  were  in  full  bearing  at  the 
end  of  the  period  than  at  the  beginning.  Since  1918  bearing  acreage 
has  increased  rapidly,  but  this  increase  has  not  as  yet  resulted  in  a 
corresponding  increase  in  production.     The  1914-1918  average  yield 


Commercial  Production  and  Bearing  Acreage  of  Apricots, 
California,  1909-1926 


Production      S 
100  tons        °» 

Bearing  Acreage 
100  acres 


2000 


io      co 


1000 
900 
800 
700 
600 
500 
400 

300 
200 


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rl«        O        O 

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t-        Oi        O 


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Fig.  10. — The  rapid  increase  in  bearing  acreage  since  1918  has  not  yet  resulted 
in  a  corresponding  increase  in  production. 

Data  on  production  from  table  11.     Data  on  bearing  acreage  from  California  Cooperative 
Crop  Reporting  Service.     Acreage  data  for  1911—1913  are  not  available. 


per  acre,  computed  by  dividing  the  commercial  production  by  the 
bearing  acreage,  was  3.2  tons  as  compared  with  the  1922-1926  average 
yield  of  2.3  tons.  This  decline  in  yield  was  caused  in  the  main  by 
two  conditions,  both  of  which  were  a  result  of  the  rapid  expansion 
of  apricot  acreage.  They  are:  (1)  a  relatively  large  proportion  of 
the  trees  listed  as  bearing  in  the  years  from  1922  to  1926  were  not 
yet  in  full  bearing,  and  (2)  the  newer  plantings  were  more  generally 
made  in  sections  less  favorable  to  high  production.  Indications  are 
that  the  first  factor  mentioned  has  been  the  dominant  influence  in  the 
failure  of  production  to  keep  pace  with  the  rapid  expansion  in  bearing 


18 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


Commercial  Production  of  Dried,  Canned,  and  Fresh  Apricots,  California, 
1909-1926  (Equivalent  Fresh  Tons) 


Dried 


Canned 

Interstate 
shipments 


to     to     to 

CM         U5         CM 

CO      00      to      «o 


Fig.  11. — The  output  of  canned  apricots  has  increased  faster  than  the  output 
of  dried  apricots  or  than  the  interstate  shipments  of  fresh  apricots. 


Data  from  table  11. 


BUL.  423]  APRICOTS  19 

acreage.  The  full  effects  of  the  earlier  increase  in  bearing  acreage 
would  normally  have  been  felt  during  the  past  few  years.  However, 
their  influence  upon  production  was  largely  offset  by  the  sub-normal 
climatic  conditions  of  the  past  three  years.  If  the  present  acreage 
comes  into  full  bearing  and  if  favorable  climatic  conditions  prevail 
during  the  next  few  years,  there  will  undoubtedly  be  a  substantial 
increase  in  production. 

Figure  11  shows  the  relative  changes  in  the  production  of  dried 
and  canned  apricots  and  fresh  interstate  shipments  from  1909  to  1926. 
The  lines  of  secular  trend  indicate  that  the  normal  output  of  canned 
apricots  has  increased  over  seven  times  as  rapidly  as  the  normal  out- 
put of  dried  apricots  and  almost  twice  as  rapidly  as  the  normal 
interstate  shipments  of  fresh  apricots.  Canned  apricots  have  also 
experienced  wider  fluctuations  in  output  from  year  to  year  than  have 
dried  apricots  or  fresh  interstate  shipments.  The  average  fluctuation 
in  the  outputs  of  these  three  kinds  of  apricots  has  been  as  follows : 
canned,  42  per  cent;  dried,  28  per  cent;  and  fresh  interstate  ship- 
ments, 30  per  cent. 


Percentage  of  California's  Commercial  Apricot  Production  Dried,  Canned, 
and  Shipped  Fresh,  Average  1909-1913  and  1922-1926 

_  ,  Per  cent 

Interstate 
Dried  Canned  shipments  0  10  20  30  40  60  60  70  80  90  KO 

^  n    i 


ATerae*  1909-1915   79.6   17.9    2.6 
Arerage  1922-1928   67.4   29.6     3.1 


y///}^//^//^///^///^//^///}^. 


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Fig.  12. — During  the  past  five  years  dried  apricots  have  been  relatively  less 
important,  while  canned  apricots  and  interstate  shipments  of  fresh  apricots  have 
been  relatively  more  important,  than  during  the  five-year  period  from  1909  to 
1913. 

Data  from  table  11. 

Utilization  of  the  California  Apricot  Crop. — The  bulk  of  the 
apricot  crop  in  California  is  used  for  drying  and  canning.  The  five- 
year  average  commercial  production,  1922-1926,  was  157,474  tons,  of 
which  67.4  per  cent  was  dried,  29.5  per  cent  canned,  and  3.1  per  cent 
shipped  fresh  to  eastern  markets.  In  figure  12  it  will  be  noted  that 
important  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  utilization  of  the  crop. 
During  the  past  five  years  dried  apricots  have  been  relatively  less 
important,  while  canning  apricots  and  interstate  shipments  of  fresh 
apricots  have  been  relatively  more  important  than  during  the  five- 
year  period  from  1909  to  1913. 


20 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


DRIED   APRICOTS 

The  position  of  apricots  in  the  dried  fruit  industry  in  California  is 
shown  in  table  2.  The  normal  output  of  dried  apricots  is  larger  than 
the  normal  output  of  dried  figs,  apples,  or  pears,  but  is  much  smaller 
than  the  normal  output  of  raisins  or  prunes  and  is  slightly  smaller 
than  the  normal  output  of  dried  peaches.  Although  the  tonnage  of 
dried  apricots  increased  17.8  per  cent  from  1910-1914  to  1921-1925, 
its  relative  position  in  the  dried-fruit  industry  declined  from  7.9 
per  cent  of  the  total  dried-fruit  output  in  1910-1914  to  4.5  per  cent 
in  1921-1925.  Dried  apricots  were  responsible  for  only  1.3  per  cent 
of  the  total  increase  of  209,275  tons  in  the  dried  fruit  output  in  Cali- 
fornia between  1910-1914  and  1921-1925,  while  raisins  and  prunes 
were  responsible  for  68.2  per  cent  and  27  per  cent  respectively. 

TABLE  2 
California's  Dried-Fruit  Output,  Average  1910-1914  and  1921-1925 


Average 
1910-1914 

Average 
1921-1925 

Change  from 
1910-1914  to  1921-1925 

Percentage 

increase  or 

decrease  from 

Tons 

Per 
cent 

Tons 

Per 
cent 

Tons 

Per  cent  of 
total  change 

1910-1914  to 
1921-1925 

75,900 
68,300 
25,800 
15,450 
5,155 
3,300 
2,500 

38.6 
34.8 
13.1 
7.9 
2.6 
1.7 
1.3 

218,400 

124,800 

23,140 

18,200 

9,620 

-      8,550 

2,970 

53.8 
30.8 
5.7 
4.5 
2.4 
2.1 
0.7 

+142,500 
+  56,500 
-    2,660 
+    2,750 
+    4,465 
+    5,250 
+       470 

+68.2 
+27.0 
-  1.3 
+  1.3 
+  2.1 
+  2.5 
+  0.2 

+187.7 

+  82.7 

-  10.3 

+  17.8 

+  86.6 

+159.1 

+  18.8 

Total 

196,405 

100.0 

405,680 

100.0 

+209,275 

100.0 

+106.6 

Sources  of  data:  Compiled  from  the  California  Fruit  News  except  as  follows: 
Raisins,  from  S.  W.  Shear  and  H.  F.  Gould,  Economic  Status  of  the  Grape  Indus- 
try, California  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  (in  press).  Prune  average  1921-1925,  from 
California  Crop  Report,  1925,  pp.  26-27. 


Production  of  Dried  Apricots. — Dried  apricots  are  produced  only 
in  California.  Figure  13  shows  the  production  by  years  from  1909 
to  1926.  The  normal  increase  in  production  during  this  period,  as 
illustrated  by  the  line  of  trend,  amounted  to  3,770  tons,  or  27  per  cent. 
The  lowest  production  during  this  entire  18-year  period  occurred  in 
1920  when  the  tonnage  was  42  per  cent  below  normal ;  and  the  largest 
production  occurred  in  1923  when  the  tonnage  was  75  per  cent  above 
normal.  The  average  variation  from  the  normal  production  amounted 
to  approximately  28  per  cent. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


21 


Dried  Apricot  Production,  California,  1909-1926 


o     o 

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CM  CM 
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Fig.  13. — The  normal  increase  in  the  production  of  dried  apricots  during  the 
past  seventeen  years  has  amounted  to  27  per  cent. 


Data  from  table  11. 


Exports  of  Dried  Apricots. — There  has  been  no  general  upward 
or  downward  trend  in  the  exports  of  dried  apricots  during  the  past 
seventeen  years  (fig.  14).  The  average  1909-1913  exports  amounted 
to  9,719  tons  as  compared  to  the  average  1921-1925  exports  of  9,813 
tons,  an  increase  of  less  than  100  tons  or  1  per  cent.  The  outstanding 
fact  illustrated  in  figure  14  is  the  wide  variation  in  exports  from  year 
to  year,  the  average  variation  for  this  seventeen-year  period  being 
48  per  cent.  Part  of  this  variation  has  been  caused  by  fluctuations 
in  domestic  production  (see  figure  13),  but  a  larger  part  seems  to 
have  been  caused  by  changing  demand  conditions  in  the  foreign 
markets,  since  the  percentage  of  the  crop  exported  likewise  shows 
considerable  variation  (fig.  15). 

Although  the  average  exports  during  the  past  five  years  have 
equaled  in  amount  the  pre-war  five-year  average,  the  percentage  of 
the  crop  exported  has  declined  (fig.  15).  From  1909  to  1913  an 
average  of  68  per  cent  of  the  production  was  exported  as  compared 
to  an  average  of  53  per  cent  from  1921  to  1925.  Prior  to  the  war 
the  general  tendency  was  toward  increasing  exports,  both  in  absolute 
amount  and  in  percentage  of  the  crop.     During  the  war  exports 


22 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


decreased  absolutely  and  relatively,  reaching  a  low  point  in  1917- 
1918,  when  only  2,615  tons — 17  per  cent  of  the  1917  crop — were 
exported.  Immediately  after  the  war,  exports  were  larger  than  the 
pre-war  average.  Since  1919  there  has  been  some  decline  in  the  per- 
centage of  the  crop  exported,  although  the  actual  tonnage  exported 
has  tended  to  increase. 

United  States'  Exports   of  Drted  Apricots,   1909-1925 
(Crop  year  beginning  July  1) 


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Fig.  14. — The  average  exports  of  dried  apricots  during  the  past  five  years  are 
equal  to,  but  no  greater  than,  the  average  pre-war  exports.  The  outstanding  fact 
is  the  wide  variation  in  exports  from  year  to  year. 

Data  from  U.  S.  Monthly  Summary  of  Foreign  Commerce,  June  issue. 


Main  Foreign  Markets  for  Dried  Apricots. — The  volume  of  dried 
apricots  exported  from  the  United  States  to  the  various  foreign 
countries  is  shown  in  table  3.  Germany  was  the  most  important 
market  during  the  five-year  period,  1922-1926,  followed  by  Nether- 
lands and  the  United  Kingdom.  From  1910  to  1914,  however,  the 
United  Kingdom  was  first  in  importance,  Germany  second,  and 
France  third.    During  this  earlier  period  these  three  countries  received 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


\ 

23 


68.7  per  cent  of  our  exports  as  compared  to  47.4  per  cent  during  the 
past  five  years.  On  the  other  hand,  our  exports  to  Netherlands,  Den- 
mark, Sweden,  Norway,  and  Canada  increased  from  22.3  per  cent  in 
1910-1914  to  43  per  cent  in  1922-1926. 

TABLE  3 

United  States'  Exports  of  Dried  Apricots  by  Importing  Countries, 

Average  1910-1914,  Average  1922-1926,  and  1926 

(Year  Ending  June  30) 


Country 


Average  1910-1914 


Tons 


Per  cent 


Average  1922-1926 


Tons 


Per  cent 


1926 


Tons 


Per  cent 


Germany 

Netherlands 

United  Kingdom 

France 

Denmark 

Canada 

Sweden 

Belgium 

Norway 

Others 


2,604 

1,102 

2,786 

1,279 

308 

559 

114 

478 

82 

407 


4.1 


2,075* 
1,793 
1,590 
976 
862 
641 
488 
475 
434 
479 


21.2 
18.3 
16.2 
10.0 
8.8 
6.5 
5.0 
4.8 
4  4 
4.8 


1,973 
2,032 
1,327 
466 
854 
566 
388 
560 
284 


21.8 
22.4 
14.6 
5.1 
9.4 
6.2 
4.3 
6.2 
3.1 
6.9 


Total. 


9,719 


100.0 


9,813 


100.0 


100  0 


*Four-year  average  1923-1926. 

Sources  of  data:  Average  1910-1914  compiled  from  Commerce  and  Navigation 
of  the  United  States  1914.  Average,  1922-1926,  compiled  from  U.  S.  Monthly 
Summary  of  Foreign  Commerce,  June  issues.  Data  for  1926  for  Denmark  and 
Sweden  supplied  by  L.  B.  Gary,  District  Manager,  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic 
Commerce,  San  Francisco. 


Consumption  of  Dried  Apricots. — As  compared  with  the  popula- 
tion, the  consumption  of  dried  apricots  in  the  United  States  is  very 
small.  During  the  past  five  years  the  average  per  capita  consumption 
amounted  to  only  0.15  of  a  pound  of  dried  apricots  or  the  equivalent 
of  0.8  of  a  pound  of  fresh  apricots. 

Prices  and  Purchasing  Power  of  Dried  Apricots. — In  order  to 
determine  whether  the  returns  from  the  sale  of  apricots  are  high  or 
low  as  compared  to  the  things  the  apricot  grower  must  buy,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  convert  money  prices  to  purchasing  power.  The  best  index 
available  at  present  for  doing  this  is  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics 
index  of  wholesale  prices  given  in  table  13,  column  X.  The  figure 
obtained  by  deflating  the  price  of  apricots  by  the  corresponding  index 
number  indicates  the  value  of  apricots  in  exchange  for  all  commodities 
at  wholesale  prices  compared  with  pre-war  exchange  values. 


24 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


Percentage  of  United  States'  Dried  Apricots  Exported,  1909-1925 


Fig.  15. — The  percentage  of  the  apricot  crop  exported  has  tended  to  decline. 
On  an  average,  53  per  cent  of  the  crop  in  the  past  five  years  has  been  exported 
as  compared  with  68  per  cent  from  1909  to  1913. 

Compiled  from  data  in  figures  13   and   14. 


Eelative  Purchasing  Power  of  California  Dried  Apricots,  F.O.B.  Growers  : 
Shipping  Points,  1909-1926 


140 

120 

100 

80 


2      § 


*     8 


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Fig.  16. — The  changes  in  the  purchasing  power  of  dried  apricots  from  year 
to  year  are  similar  to  the  changes  in  the  purchasing  power  of  canning  and  fresh 
apricots.  Growers  are  normally  able  to  buy  more  of  other  commodities  with  the 
money  thay  receive  for  a  ton  of  apritos  today  than  formerly. 

Data  from  table  13. 


BUL.  423]  APRICOTS  25 

Figure  16  shows  the  relative  purchasing  power  of  dried  apricots 
from  1909  to  1926.  During  this  period  the  purchasing  power  has 
tended  to  increase  slowly,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  secular  trend,  which 
was  9  per  cent  higher  in  1926  than  in  1909.  The  actual  values  have 
fluctuated  about  the  normal  trend,  being  sometimes  above,  and  some- 
times below  it.  The  average  fluctuation  for  the  eighteen-year-period 
was  21.6  per  cent, 

A  comparison  of  figure  16  with  figures  18  and  22  shows  the  close 
relationship  which  exists  between  the  prices  paid  for  dried,  canning, 
and  fresh  apricots.  It  will  be  noted  that  a  change  in  the  price  of 
one  is  generally  accompanied  by  a  similar  change  in  the  prices  of  the 
other  two.  This  is  because  a  large  part  of  the  apricot  crop  has  a  three- 
way  outlet :  it  may  be  dried,  canned,  or  shipped  fresh.  The  proportion 
of  the  crop  utilized  in  these  three  ways  depends  largely  on  the  prices 
offered,  and  the  possibility  of  increasing  or  decreasing  the  supply  of 
each  brings  the  prices  of  them  into  close  adjustment. 


CANNED   APRICOTS 

The  position  of  apricots  in  the  canned  fruit  industry  in  California 
is  shown  in  table  4.  Although  ranking  second,  the  average  pack  of 
apricots  during  the  past  five  years  has  amounted  to  only  17.3  per  cent 
of  the  total  canned-fruit  pack,  while  the  pack  of  clingstone  peaches 
has  amounted  to  over  one-half  of  the  total.  The  average  1922-1926 
pack  of  all  fruits  was  9,391,000  cases  larger  than  the  average  1910- 
1914  pack.  Almost  71  per  cent  of  this  increase  of  more  than  nine 
million  cases  is  attributable  to  clingstone  peaches  as  compared  with 
16  per  cent  to  apricots  and  10.7  per  cent  to  pears. 

Production  of  Canned  Apricots. — Practically  all  of  the  canned 
apricots  are  produced  in  California.7  Figure  17  shows  the  canned  pack 
in  California  from  1909  to  1926.    In  1926  the  normal  pack,  as  based 


7  A  small  tonnage  of  apricots  is  canned  in  Utah.  According  to  Mr.  J.  F. 
Barker,  Secretary  of  the  Utah  Canners'  Association,  the  Utah  packs  for  the  past 
five  years  were  as  follows:  1922,  41,054  cases;  1923,  14,670  cases;  1924,  33,382 
cases;  1925,  3,275  cases;  and  1926,  70,838  cases.  Mr.  Barker  points  out  that 
the  bulk  of  the  apricots  produced  in  Utah  are  consumed  fresh  and  that  only 
the  surplus  above  the  fresh  market  requirements  is  canned.  The  future  apricot 
pack  in  Utah,  however,  will  probably  be  considerably  larger  as  growers  have 
planted  quite  a  large  acreage  to  apricots  during  the  past  few  years. 

According  to  the  reports  of  the  Northwest  Canners'  Association  there  have 
been  no  apricots  canned  in  Oregon,  Washington,  and  Idaho  since  1922.  The 
available  statistics  of  the  earlier  packs  in  these  states  are  as  follows:  Oregon, 
6,815  cases  in  1919;  Washington,  325  cases  in  1919,  1591  eases  in  1920,  and  63 
cases  in  1921;  Idaho,  480  cases  in  1922. 


26 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


upon  the  line  of  trend,  was  1,729,750  cases  larger  than  the  normal 
pack  in  1909,  an  increase  of  205  per  cent  in  17  years.  Fluctuations 
in  the  pack  from  year  to  year  have  been  particularly  large,  the  average 
fluctuation  from  1909  to  1926  being  42  per  cent. 

The  increase  in  the  canned  pack  in  California  has  been  much 
greater  than  the  increase  in  the  United  States'  population.  The  1910- 
1914  average  per  capita  production  of  canned  apricots  in  equivalent 
of  the  fresh  product  amounted  to  0.4  of  a  pound  as  compared  with 
0.82  of  a  pound  on  the  average  from  1922  to  1926. 


TABLE  4 

California's  Canned-Fruit  Pack,  Average  1910-1914,  Average  1922-1926, 

and  1926 


Average 
1910-1914 

Average 
1922-1926 

1926 

Change  from  1910- 
1914  to  1922-1926 

Percentage 

increase  or 

decrease  from 

Fruit 

1,000 
cases* 

Per 
cent 

1,000 
cases* 

Per 
cent 

1,000 
cases* 

Per 
cent 

1,000 
cases* 

Per  cent  of 
total  change 

1910-1914 

to 
1922-1926 

Peaches,  clingstone . 

1,903 
1,058 
736 
927 
222 
139 
384 

35.4 
19.7 
13.7 
17.3 
4.1 
2.6 
7.2 

8,543 

2,554 

1,740 

1,033 

423 

169 

298 

57.9 
17.3 
11.8 
7.0 
2.9 
1.1 
2.0 

13,655 
3,390 
2,044 
817 
527 
229 
313 

65.1 
16.2 
9.7 
3.9 
2.5 
1.1 
1.5 

+6,640 
+1,496 
+1,004 
+    106 
+    201 
+     30 
-      86 

+70.7 
+16.0 
+10.7 
+  1.1 
+  2.1 
+  0.3 
-  0.9 

+348.9 
+141.4 

Pears , 

Peaches,  freestone... 

+136.4 
+  11.4 
+  90.5 

+  21.6 

-  22.4 

Total 

5,369 

100.0 

14,760 

100.0 

20,975 

100.0 

+9,391 

100.0 

+174.9 

*  All  grades  and  sizes. 

Sources  of  data:  Years  1910-1914,  1925  Annual  of  the  California  Packing 
Corporation.  Years  1922-1926,  Canners'  League  of  California,  Bui.  762-A,  Jan.  4, 
1927. 


Since  approximately  one-third  of  the  pack  is  exported,  the  annual 
per  capita  consumption  of  ca,nned  apricots  in  equivalent  of  the  fresh 
product  amounts  to  only  0.55  of  a  pound  at  the  present  time. 

Exports  of  Canned  Apricots. — The  average  exports  of  canned 
apricots  during  the  past  three  years  amounted  to  475,157  cases,  or 
25  per  cent  of  the  average  pack  (table  5).  During  this  period  the 
percentage  of  the  canned-apricot  pack  going  into  export  trade  has 
decreased;  30  per  cent  of  the  1925  pack  was  exported  as  compared 
with  34  per  cent  of  the  1924  pack  and  37  per  cent  of  the  1923  pack. 
The  amount  of  apricots  exported  during  the  crop  year  of  1925  was 
6  per  cent  smaller  than  the  amount  exported  during  the  crop  year  of 
1924,  but  was  13  per  cent  larger  than  during  the  crop  year  of  1923. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


27 


Canned  Apricot  Pack,  California,  1909-1926 


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Fig.  17. — The  output  of  canned  apricots  has  increased  rapidly. 
Data  from  table  11. 


TABLE  5 
United  States'  Exports  of  Canned  Apricots,  1924-1926 


Year  ending  June  30 

Cases 

Percentage  of  U.  S. 
production  exported 

Average  1924-1926 

644,100 

33 

1924 

578,800 
696,900 
656,600 

37 
34 
30 

1925 

1926 

Sources  of  data:  Compiled  from  U.  S.  Monthly  Summary  of  Foreign  Com- 
merce, June  issues.  Pounds  converted  to  cases  on  the  basis  of  45  pounds  to  the 
case.  Prior  to  January  1,  1923,  exports  of  canned  apricots  were  not  listed 
separately. 


28 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


TABLE  6 

United  States'  Exports  of  Canned  Apricots  by  Importing  Countries, 

1923-1925 


Average  1923-1925 

1923 

1924 

1925 

Country 

Cases 

Per 
cent 

Cases 

Per 
cent 

Cases 

Per 
cent 

Cases 

Per 
cent 

602,200 
21,900 
19,700 
11,400 
9,100 
49,600 

84.3 
3.1 
2.8 
1.6 
1.3 
6.9 

478,300 

20,800 

14,900 

6,000 

6,100 

46,600 

83.5 
3.6 
2.6 
1.1 
1.1 
8.1 

699,600 
20,000 
17,500 
18,300 
14,800 
56,500 

84.6 
2.4 
2.1 
2.2 
1.8 
6.9 

628,700 

25,000 

26,800 

9,900 

6,300 

45,600 

84.7 

3.4 

3.6 

1.3 

.8 

6.2 

Total 

713,900 

100.0 

572,700 

100.0 

826,700 

100.0 

742,300 

100.0 

Sources  of  data:    Commerce  and  Navigation  of  the  United  States.     Pounds 
converted  to  cases  on  the  basis  of  45  pounds  to  the  case. 


Eelative  Purchasing  Power  of  California  Canning  Apricots,  F.O.B.  Growers 
Shipping  Points,  1909-1926 


ton 

•81  ■ 


140 
120 
100 
80 
60 
40 
20 


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Fig.   18. — Despite  the  rapid  increase  in  the  output   of   canned  apricots,  the 
relative  purchasing  power  has  tended  to  increase  slightly. 

Data  from  table  13. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


29 


Main  Foreign  Markets  for  Canned  Apricots. — The  United  King- 
dom is  our  principal  foreign  market  for  canned  apricots.  During  the 
past  three  years  approximately  84  per  cent  of  the  exports  have  gone 
to  that  country  (table  6).  Canada  has  generally  been  our  next  most 
important  market,  followed  by  France,  Belgium,  and  the  Netherlands. 
The  amount  of  canned  apricots  imported  by  the  various  countries 
from  the  United  States  varies  from  year  to  year  as  shown  in  table  6. 
In  1925  exports  to  the  United  Kingdom,  Canada,  and  France  were 
larger  than  the  three-year  average  exports,  while  exports  to  Belgium 
and  the  Netherlands  were  smaller. 

Purchasing  Power  of  Canning  Apricots. — The  trend  of  purchasing 
power  of  canning  apricots,  f.o.b.  growers'  shipping  points,  shows  a 
small  increase  during  the  eighteen-year  period  (fig.  18).  In  1926  the 
line  of  trend  was  7.3  per  cent  higher  than  in  1909.  This  small  increase 
in  purchasing  power  during  the  period  when  the  output  of  canned 
apricots  tripled  indicates  how  rapidly  the  demand  for  canned  apricots 
has  increased.  People  in  the  United  States  are  not  only  eating  at 
least  twice  as  many  canned  apricots  as  they  did  before  the  war,  but 
they  are  paying  more  per  can  for  them  now  than  they  did  then. 


Interstate  Shipments  of  Fresh  Apricots,  California,  1909-1926 


10 

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700 
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Fig.  19. — The  interstate  shipments  of  fresh  apricots  have  tended  to  increase 
less  rapidly  than  canned  apricots  but  more  rapidly  than  dried  apricots. 

Data  from  table  11.     Shipments  for  years  1909-1910  corrected  to  26,000  lbs.  minimum. 


30  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


FRESH    APRICOTS 

California's  Interstate  Fresh- Apricot  Shipments. — California's 
interstate  shipments  of  fresh  apricots  from  1909  to  1926  are  shown 
in  figure  19.  During  this  period  the  secular  trend  of  shipments 
increased  113  per  cent.  The  normal  increase  per  year,  as  based  upon 
the  line  of  trend,  has  amounted  to  14.2  cars.  The  actual  shipments 
show  considerable  variation  from  the  long-time  trend;  the  average 
variation  for  the  eighteen-year  period  being  approximately  30  per 
cent.  Declining  shipments  extending  through  three  or  more  years 
have  occurred  three  times  in  the  past  eighteen  years:  1911-1913, 
1918-1922,  and  1924-1926.  The  recovery  from  the  two  earlier  periods 
of  declining  shipments  was  very  rapid. 

Seasonal  Variation  in  California's  Interstate  Shipments  of  Fresh 
Apricots. — The  shipping  season  for  fresh  apricots  normally  extends 
for  eight  weeks,  from  the  middle  of  May  to  the  middle  of  July.8  The 
bulk  of  the  apricots,  however,  are  shipped  during  the  third  and  fourth 
weeks  (fig.  20).  During  the  past  three  years  an  average  of  65.6  per 
cent  has  been  shipped  during  this  period.  The  tendency  during  the 
past  three  years  has  been  to  ship  a  relatively  larger  amount  during 
these  two  weeks;  in  1924,  51.2  per  cent  were  shipped;  in  1925,  66.4 
per  cent;  and  in  1926,  79.4  per  cent. 

Local  Consumption  of  Fresh  Apricots  Is  Large. — Accurate  figures 
on  the  amount  of  fresh  apricots  consumed  within  the  state  are  not 
available,  but  the  volume  is  undoubtedly  large.  According  to  the 
Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics,  the  carlot  unloads  of  apricots  in 
San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles  in  1926  were  195  and  93  respectively.9 
These  carlot  unloads,  particularly  in  Los  Angeles,  were  augmented 
by  heavy  truck  receipts.  A  conservative  estimate  is  that  four  times 
as  many  apricots  were  received  in  Los  Angeles  in  1926  by  truck  as 
by  rail.  These  figures  indicate  that  a  larger  proportion  of  the  fresh 
apricots  are  consumed  within  the  state  than  are  shipped  to  eastern 
markets. 


8  The  season,  may  be  a  week  or  ten  days  earlier  or  later  than  this.  In  1925, 
for  example,  the  season  was  ten  days  earlier. 

9  Carl  J.  Hansen  of  the  San  Francisco  office  of  the  Bureau  of  Agricultural 
Economics  estimates  that  not  more  than  10  per  cent  of  the  1926  carlot  unloads 
of  apricots  in  San  Francisco  were  sent  to  the  canneries;  and  Homer  A.  Harris 
of  the  Los  Angeles  office  of  the  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics  estimates  that 
none  of  the  1926  carlot  unloads  of  apricots  in  Los  Angeles  were  sent  to  the 
canneries. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


31 


Percentage  of  California's  Interstate  Fresh-Apricot  Shipments  Shipped  by 
Weeks,  Average  1924-1926 


©  ©  * 
40 


35 


30 
25 

20 

15 

10 

5 


12  3  4  5  6  7 

Weeks  in  Shipping  Season  , 
May  Juno  #  July- 

Fig.  20. — The  shipping  season  for  fresh  apricots  is  relatively  short. 
Data  from  table  12. 


California  Fresh  Apricots  Are  Not  Widely  Distributed. — Figure 
21  shows  the  relative  distribution  of  the  interstate  shipments  of  fresh 
apricots  from  northern  California10  in  1926.  It  will  be  noted  that 
the  bulk  of  the  apricots  are  sold  in  a  comparatively  few  states.  In 
1926  approximately  77  per  cent  of  interstate  shipments  from  northern 
California  were  sold  in  the  four  states  of  New  York,  Illinois,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Ohio,  and  40  per  cent  in  New  York  alone.  This  limited 
distribution  is  largely  a  result  of  the  extreme  perishability  of  fresh 
apricots.  The  necessity  for  handling  them  quickly  makes  it  desirable 
to  sell  them  in  the  few  large  auction  markets  rather  than  in  the  many 
smaller  private-sale  markets.  The  experience  of  large  marketing 
organizations  has  been  that  the  large  markets  pay  more  for  fresh 
apricots  than  the  small  markets. 


io  Figures  on  the  distribution  of  the  interstate  shipments  of  apricots  from 
central  California  are  not  available.  In  general,  however,  the  distribution  is 
much  the  same  as  that  from  northern  California.  Interstate  shipments  from 
southern  California  amount  to  only  two  or  three  cars  a  year. 


32 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


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Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


33 


Washington  Is  Becoming  a  More  Important  Apricot-Producing 
State. — There  has  been  a  considerable  increase  in  the  planting  of 
apricots  in  Washington  during  recent  years.  In  1926,  the  total 
apricot  acreage  in  that  state  amounted  to  2,760  acres11  as  compared 
with  756  acres  in  1920.  Since  a  considerable  proportion  of  this  acre- 
age is  not  yet  in  bearing,  there  will  probably  be  a  substantial  increase 
in  production  during  the  next  few  years. 

Washington's  production,  however,  is  small  as  compared  with  that 
of  California.  In  1926  Washington's  total  production  amounted  to 
only  2,400  tons,  while  the  commercial  production  in  California 
amounted  to  approximately  158,300  tons. 

TABLE  7 

Carlot  Shipments  and  Unloads  of  California  Apricots  and  Certain 

Competing  Fruits 


Carlot  shipments  U.  S. 

Carlot  unloads  during  June,  1926 

May  16- 

June  12, 

1926 

May  31- 

June  27, 

1925 

New  York 
City 

San 
Francisco 

Los 
Angeles 

Apricots 

248* 

368* 

95 

140 

58 

Apples 

1,668 
7,475 
l,152f 

545J 
4,638 

449 
1,169 
7,751 
2,005 

845 

9,208 

974f 

955* 

3,249 

4,251 

1,245 

1,086 

10,430 

542 
1,694 
339 
315J 

988 
567 

739 
457 

19 
169 
30 

95 
40 
23 

113 

124 

Cantaloupes 

298 

Cherries 

47 

Deciduous  fruit  (mixed) 

93 

Oranges 

1 

Peaches 

83 

Plums  and  prunes 

76 

Strawberries 

Watermelons 

1,120 

Total 

27,100 

32,611 

5,736 

629 

1,900 

*  California  interstate  shipments.         f  Includes  cannery  stock.         t  Includes  some  apricots. 

Sources  of  data:  Carlot  shipments  of  melons  and  fruits  other  than  apricots 
from  issues  of  Crops  and  Markets,  1926.  Carlot  shipments  of  apricots  from  the 
California  Fruit  News.  Carlot  unloads  from  mimeographed  reports  of  the  Bureau 
of  Agricultural  Economics,  issued  by  the  New  York,  San  Francisco,  and  Los 
Angeles  offices. 


Although  all  of  Washington's  apricots  are  marketed  fresh,  they 
do  not  compete  seriously  with  the  fresh  apricots  shipped  from  Cali- 
fornia. The  shipping  season  in  California  is  generally  over  before 
the  beginning  of  the  shipping  season  in  Washington.  Furthermore, 
most  of  the  apricots  from  Washington  are  marketed  in  the  northwest- 
ern states,  while  most  of  California's  apricots  are  marketed  in  the 
eastern  states. 


11  Seventh  Biennial  Eeport  of  the  Washington  State  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, p.  45. 


34 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


Heavy  Shipments  of  Certain  Fresh  Fruits  Compete  with  Califor- 
nia's Fresh  Apricots. — California's  fresh  apricots  meet  with  intense 
competition  from  the  shipments  of  certain  fresh  fruits  in  the  United 
States;  although  the  peaks  of  shipments  of  these  products  generally 
come  at  different  times  than  the  peak  of  California's  apricot  ship- 
ments. Approximately  95  per  cent  of  262  cars  of  apricots  shipped 
from  California  in  1926  moved  between  May  16  and  June  12.  During 
this  same  period  nearly  27,000  cars  of  other  fresh  fruits  which  compete 
more  or  less  directly  with  apricots  were  shipped  from  points  in  the 
United  States  (table  7).  The  most  intense  competition  in  1926  came 
from  cantaloupes  and  strawberries.  In  1925  the  competition  from 
strawberries  was  considerably  less,  but  the  competition  from  peaches 
and  watermelons  was  much  greater. 

Purchasing  Power  of  Fresh  Apricots. — The  demand  for  fresh 
apricots  has  increased  substantially  during  the  past  eighteen  years. 
Despite  a  normal  increase  of  113  per  cent  in  interstate  shipments  from 
California,  the  trend  of  purchasing  power  was  29  per  cent  higher  in 
1926  than  in  1909  (fig.  22).  A  comparison  of  figure  22  with  figure  19, 
page  29,  indicates  that  the  variations  in  purchasing  power  from  year 
to  year  are  caused  in  the  main  by  variations  in  shipments.  Large 
shipments  are  generally,  although  not  always,  accompanied  by  low 
purchasing  power,  and  vice  versa. 


Relative  Purchasing  Power  of  California  Royal  Apricots,  F.O.B.  Growers' 
Shipping  Points,  1909-192G 


•3.2 


S£ 


P      S 


140 
120 
100 
80 
60 
40 
20 


Fig.  22. — The  demand  for  fresh  apricots  has  increased  even  faster  than  pro- 
duction. Data  from  table  13. 




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Bul.423]  APRICOTS  35 


APPENDIX  I 

Foreign  Apricot  Situation 

The  available  information  indicates  that  the  countries  of  Australia, 
Union  of  South  Africa,  Syria,  and  Persia  are  the  only  ones,  besides 
the  United  States,  that  produce  apricots  to  any  considerable  extent. 
Available  data  regarding  the  situation  in  these  countries  are  very 
fragmentary.  The  following  information,  though  far  from  complete, 
gives  some  indication  of  the  situation. 

Australia, — The  available  production  figures  of  dried  apricots  in 
Australia12  are  as  follows : 

Year  Tons 

1920-21  643 

1921-22  486 

1922-23  1051 

1923-24  585 

Figures  for  the  last  two  years  are  not  available. 

Exports  of  dried  apricots  from  Australia  amounted  to  450  tons 
in  1922-23  and  34  tons  in  1923-24.  The  United  Kingdom  received 
90  per  cent  of  the  exports  in  1922-23  and  75  per  cent  in  1923-24. 


13 


The  Australian  canned-apricot  pack  for  the  years  from  1922-23 
to  1925-2614  is  given  below: 

Year  Dozen  Tins 

1922-23  245,244 

1923-24  281,194 

1924-25  413,150 

1925-26  271,350 


12  U.  S.  D.  A.  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics,  Foreign  Crops  and  Markets, 
13:   761.     1926. 

!3  Letter  from  E.  S.  Hollingsliead,  Foodstuffs  Division,  Bureau  of  Foreign  and 
Domestic  Commerce. 

14  U.  S.  Dept.  Commerce,  Foodstuffs  'Round  the  World — Canned  and  Dried 
Fruits,  Feb.  11,  1927,  p.  1. 


36  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

Union  of  South  Africa. — In  1925  there  were  2,169,340  apricot  trees 
in  the  Union  of  South  Africa,  of  which  1,145,280  were  in  bearing  and 
1,024,060  were  not  in  bearing.15  The  high  ratio  of  non-bearing  to 
bearing  trees  indicates  that  there  will  be  a  substantial  increase  in 
production  during  the  next  few  years. 

Production  of  dried  apricots  in  the  Union  of  South  Africa  for  the 
years  from  1920-21  to  1923-2416  are  given  below : 

Year  Tons 

1920-21 80 

1921-22   490 

1922-23   572 

1923-24   370 

Data  for  the  last  two  years  are  not  available. 

Exports  of  dried  apricots  from  the  Union  of  South  Africa  mounted 
to  294  tons  in  1924,  359  tons  in  1925,  and  390  tons  in  the  first  five 
months  of  1926.  Newfoundland  and  the  United  Kingdom  are  the 
main  destinations  of  exports.17 

Syria. — According  to  R.  S.  Hollingshead,17  the  best  available 
statistics  show  that  Syria  produces  about  17,000  tons  of  fresh  apricots 
a  year,  of  which  600  to  750  tons  are  dried  and  5,000  to  7,500  tons  are 
used  in  making  apricot  paste.  Exports  of  dried  apricots  from  Syria 
were  as  follows:  1921,  283  tons;  1922,  1241  tons;  and  1923,  651  tons. 
About  75  per  cent  of  these  exports  go  to  Egypt  and  consequently 
do  not  compete  with  California  apricots  to  any  considerable  extent. 

Persia. — The  estimated  production  of  dried  apricots  in  Persia  in 
1925  was  3000  tons.18  The  exports  from  Persia  for  the  year  ending 
March  20,  1925,  amounted  to  1941  tons,  of  which  1815  tons  were 
exported  to  Russia.  Practically  none  of  the  Persian  apricots  are 
consumed  in  the  more  important  California  foreign  markets. 


is  Stevenson,  P.  J.,  Report  of  the  1925  Census  of  South  Africa's  Fruit  Trees 
(mimeo.),  Johannesburg,  South  Africa. 

16  U.  S.  D.  A.  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics,  Foreign  Crops  and  Markets, 
13:   761.     1926. 

17  Letter  from  R.  S.  Hollingshead,  Foodstuffs  Division,  Bureau  of  Foreign  and 
Domestic  Commerce. 

18  U.  S.  D.  A.,  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics,  The  Dried  Fruit  Industry  in 
Persia  (mimeo.),  April  22,  1926. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


37 


Foreign  Tariffs. — The  rates  of  import  duty  levied  by  the  foreign 
countries  which  are  important  markets  for  United  States  apricots  are 
given  in  table  8. 

TABLE  8 

Approximate  Import  Duties  on  United  States  Apricots  in 
Certain  Foreign  Countries,  1926 


Country 

Dried 

Canned 

3 . 3  cents  per  pound 
25  per  cent  ad  valorem 
Yt  cent  per  pound 
.  1853  cent  per  pound 
1.08  cent  per  pound 
8  per  cent  ad  valorem 
7  cents  per  pound 
6.1  cents  per  pound 
$1.70  per  100  pounds 

7%  cents  per  pound 

23^  cents  per  pound 

6. 1  cents  per  pound 

France 

2 . 7  cents  per  pound 

Germany 

16  cents  per  pound 
8  per  cent  ad  valorem 

10. 7  cents  per  pound 

4.8  cents  per  pound 

United  Kingdom 

$2.84  per  100  pounds* 

*  Or  the  importer  may  elect  to  pay  duty  based  upon  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  sugar  contained 
in  the  apricots. 

Data  compiled  from  records  furnished  by  L.  B.  Gary,  Bureau  of  Foreign  and 
Domestic  Commerce,  San  Francisco. 


The  preferential  treatment  accorded  apricots  from  Australia  and 
the  Union  of  South  Africa  by  Canada  and  the  United  Kingdom  is 
given  in  table  9. 

TABLE  9 

Preferential  Duties  Paid  by  Australia  and  the  Union  of  South  Africa, 

Compared  with  Duties  Paid  by  the  United  States  on  Apricots 

Imported  into  Canada  and  the  United  Kingdom,  1926 


Exporting  country 

Importing  country 

Australia 

Union  of  South  Africa 

United  States 

Canada: 

Dried 

10  per  cent  ad  valorem 
Yz  cent  per  pound 

Free 

$1 .  79  per  100  pounds 

17H  per  cent  ad  valorem 
\%A  cents  per  pound 

Free 

$1.79  per  100  pounds 

United  Kingdom: 

Dried 

$1.70  per  100  pounds 

$2.84  per  100  pounds 

Data  compiled  from  records  furnished  by  L.  B.  Gary,  Bureau  of  Foreign  and 
Domestic  Commerce,  San  Francisco. 


38 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


APPENDIX   II 

Tables 

table  10 

Apricot  Acreage,  California  by  Counties,  Bearing  Acreage,  1921-1927, 

and  Non-bearing  Acreage,  1927 


County 

Bearing  acreage 

Non- 
bearing 
acreage 

1921 

1922 

1923 

1924 

1925 

1926 

1927 

1927* 

Coast  District 

22,267 

23,926 

24,255 

25,087 

26,400 

28,890 

30,049 

5,484 

Alameda 

3,600 

400 

31 

25 

1,500 

30 

2,000 

540 

54 

12,297 

1,750 

40 

3,995 

450 

34 

35 

1,976 

30 

2,644 

598 

67 

12,297 

1,750 

50 

3,995 

500 

35 

42 

1,800 

30 

2,800 

664 

75 

12,514 

1,750 

50 

3,995 

550 

36 

50 

1,600 

30 

3,500 

710 

83 

12,733 

1,750 

50 

3,749 

600 

39 

55 

1,400 

30 

4,000 

824 

103 

13,700 

1,850 

50 

3,502 

800 

42 

50 

1,280 

30 

4,533 

719 

139 

15,840 

1,900 

55 

3,255 

1,081 

45 

65 

1,480 

50 

4,795 

625 

209 

16,409 

1,975 

60 

271 

Contra  Costa 

1,217 
30 

Lake 

Marin 

3 

300 

150 

498 

344 

62 

2,439 

150 

20 

5,478 

6,409 

6,492 

6,527 

6,704 

7,077 

7,947 

2,843 

Butte 

36 

40 

110 

200 

3,420 

39 

242 

1,251 

140 

36 
250 
112 
200 

3,476 
100 
260 

1,800 
175 

36 

250 

138 

225 

3,476 

87 

272 

1,833 

175 

36 

250 

173 

250 

3,476 

75 

285 

1,807 

175 

45 

250 

183 

270 

3,506 

85 

385 

1,900 

80 

112 

242 

216 

300 

3,541 

93 

493 

2,000 

80 

125 
354 
449 
350 

3,576 
101 
512 

2,400 
80 

Colusa 

500 

Glenn 

911 

Sacramento 

425 

Solano 

420 

Sutter 

65 

Tehama 

137 

Yolo 

194 

Yuba 

191 

10,118 

11,192 

11,944" 

12,609 

13,889 

16,022 

19,743 

4,2£0 

Fresno 

2,750 
598 

2,500 
224 
330 
772 

1,443 

1,501 

2,850 
598 

2,750 
404 
330 
850 

1,682 

1,728 

2,850 
646 

2,875 
464 
484 
876 

1,886 

1,863 

2,850 
695 

2,912 
525 
638 
901 

2,090 

1,998 

2,736 
700 

2,950 
600 
769 
996 

2,645 

2,493 

2,622 
712 
3,250 
633 
1,136 
1,046 
4,130 
2,493 

2,508 
1,315 
3,000 
865 
2,104 
1,131 
4,944 
3,876 

157 

Kern 

600 

Kings 

403 

1,009 

Merced 

487 

172 

1,165 

Tulare 

287 

Southern  California 

20,320 

21,123 

21,554 

22,006 

22,345 

22,711 

22,636 

5,309 

21 

4,992 

81 

5,949 

2,539 

620 

240 

7,564 

21 

4,662 

81 

5,950 

2,519 

671 

290 

8,151 

34 

4,231 

81 

5,995 

2,519 

706 

290 

8,855 

78 

4,217 

81 

5,857 

2,517 

690 

290 

8,906 

2 

4,840 
81 

5,184 

2,269 
599 
185 

7,162 

4,992 
81 

5,668 

2,470 
620 
215 

7,077 

4,992 
81 

5,808 

2,505 
620 
227 

7,321 

658 

3 

1,661 

49 

182 

200 

Ventura 

2,554 

Other  Counties 

186 

225 

248 

271 

292 

332 

349 

41 

Total 

58,369 

62,875 

64,493 

66,500 

69,630 

75,032 

80,724 

17,957 

*  1926  plantings  of  1,915  acres  not  included. 

Sources  of  data:  Kevised  figures  compiled  by  N.  I.  Nielsen,  California  Cooper- 
ative Crop  Eeporting  Service. 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


39 


TABLE  11 

Commercial  Apricot  Production,  California,  1906-1926 


Dried 

Canned 

Interstate 
shipments  t 

Total 
equiva- 
lent 

fresh 
tons 
tons 

Percentage  of  total 
commercial  production 

Year 

Dry 
tons 

Equiva- 
lent 
fresh 
tons 

Cases 

Equiv- 
alent 
fresh 
tons 

Cars 

Equiv- 
alent 
fresh 
tons 

Dried 

Canned 

Inter- 
state 
ship- 
ments 

I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

X 

1906 

3,000 
1,100 
19,000 
14,000 
15,250 
11,000 
20,000 
10,500 
20,500 
19,500 
11,000 
15,500 
15,000 
15,500 
9,500 
12,000 
15,500 
30,000 
16,000 
18,000 
17,000* 

16,500 
6,050 

104,500 
77,000 
83,875 
60,500 

110,000 
57,750 

112,750 

107,250 
60,500 
85,250 
82,500 
85,250 
52,250 
66,000 
85,250 

165,000 
88,000 
99,000 
93,500 

516,550 

444,075 

1,412,550 

865,010 

941,790 

1,008,150 

1,023,235 

982,790 

1,335,235 

981,190 

1,327,770 

2,356,553 

2,233,314 

4,395,204 

2,312,020 

1,150,514 

3,569,918 

1,562,298 

2,050,405 

2,196,680 

3,390,418 

9,392 
8,074 
25,683 
15,727 
17,123 
18,330 
18,604 
17,869 
24,277 
17,840 
24,141 
42,846 
40,606 
79,913 
42,037 
20,918 
64,908 
28,405 
37,280 
39,940 
61,644 

16 
71 
232 
208 
290 
224 
196 
158 
382 
392 
290 
403 
441 
420 
312 
285 
193 
681 
500 
401 
262 

176 
781 
2,552 
2,288 
3,190 
2,688 
2,352 
1,896 
4,584 
4,704 
3,480 
4,836 
5,292 
5,040 
3,744 
3,420 
2,316 
8,172 
6,000 
4,812 
3,144 

26,068 

14,905 
132,735 

95,015 
104,188 

81,518 
130,956 

77,515 
141,611 
129,794 

88,121 
132,932 
128,398 
170,203 

98,031 

90,338 
152,474 
201,577 
131,280 
143,752 
158,288 

63.3 
40.6 
78.7 
81.0 
80.5 
74.2 
84.0 
74.5 
79.6 
82.7 
68.6 
64.2 
64.3 
50.0 
53.3 
73.0 
55.9 
81.8 
67.0 
68.9 
59.1 

36.0 
54.2 
19.3 
16  6 
16.4 
22.5 
14.2 
23.0 
17.2 
13.7 
27.4 
32.2 
31.6 
47.0 
42.9 
23.2 
42.6 
14.1 
28.4 
27.8 
38.9 

.7 

1907 

5.2 

1908 

2.0 

1909 

2.4 

1910 

3.1 

1911 

3.3 

1912 

1.8 

1913 

2.5 

1914 

3.2 

1915 

3.6 

1916 

4  0 

1917 

3.6 

1918 

4.1 

1919 

3.0 

1920 

3.8 

1921 

3.8 

1922 

1.5 

1923 

4.1 

1924 

4.6 

1925 

3.3 

1926 

2.0 

*  Figure  on  dried  production  for  1926  subject  to  revision. 

t  Includes  only  interstate  shipments  north  of  the  Tehachapi  Pass. 


Sources  of  data: 

Cols.  I  and  V,  California  Fruit  News,  annual  statistical  numbers. 

Col.  II,  Conversion  factor,  1  ton  dried  =  5.5  tons  fresh. 

Col.  Ill,  Years  1906-1910  compiled  from  the  California  Fruit  Grower, 
annual  statistical  numbers.  Figures  corrected  by  figuring  all  cases  of 
No.  10  tins  on  basis  of  6  cans  per  case.  Years  1911-1925,  California 
Packing  Corporation,  Calpak  Annual,  1926,  p.  6.  Data  given  in  this 
publication  for  the  years  1911-1917  compiled  from  records  furnished 
by  H.  C.  Rowley,  of  the  California  Fruit  News,  and  data  for  years 
1918-1925  compiled  from  records  furnished  by  the  Canners'  League  of 
California.  Year  1926,  Canners'  League  of  California,  Bul.  762-A, 
January  4,  1927. 

Col.  IV,  Conversion  factor,  55  cases  canned  ==  1  ton  fresh. 

Col.  VI,  Conversion  factor,  years  1906-1910,  1  car  =  11  tons;  years  1911- 
1926,  1  car  =  12  tons. 


40 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


TABLE  12 

Interstate  Shipments  of  Fresh  Apricots,  California/ 

1924-1926 


by  Weeks, 


1924 

1925 

1926 

Month 

Week 
ending 

Cars 

Week 
ending 

Cars 

Week 
ending 

Cars 

17 
24 
31 

7 
14 
21 

28 

5 
12 
19 

1 
7 
72 

134 
121 
110 
42 

6 
6 

16 
23 
30 

6 
13 
20 

27 

4 
11 
18 

46 

128 
138 
56 

19 
12 

1 

15 
22 
29 

5 
12 

19 
26 

3 
10 

17 

1 

20 
93 

115 

July 

20 
9 
2 

2 

Total 

500 

401 

262 

*  Includes  only  shipments  north  of  the  Tehachapi 
California  amount  to  only  a  few  cars  a  year. 

Sources  of  data:  California  Fruit  News. 


Pass.     Interest-ate  shipments  from  southern 


Bul.  423] 


APRICOTS 


41 


TABLE  13 

Prices  and  Relative  Purchasing  Power  of  California  Dried,  Canning,  and 
Fresh  Apricots,  F.O.B.  Growers  Shipping  Points,  1909-1926 


Dried  apricots 

Canning  apricots 

Fresh  apricots  (Royal) 

All 

Year 

Price, 
cents 

Relative 

Relative 
purchas- 

Price, 
dollars 

Relative 

Relative 
purchas- 

Price, 
cents 

Relative 

Relative 
purchas- 

com- 
modity 
index 

per 
pound 

price 

ing 
power 

per 
ton 

price 

ing 
power 

per 
crate 

price 

ing 
power 

I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

X 

1909 

8.00 

80 

81 

29 

68 

69 

77 

116 

117 

99 

1910 

8.25 

83 

81 

28 

63 

61 

45 

68 

66 

103 

1911 

12.50 

125 

132 

61 

143 

136 

86 

130 

137 

95 

1912 

8.00 

80 

79 

31 

73 

72 

67 

101 

100 

101 

1913 

11.50 

115 

113 

53 

124 

122 

73 

110 

108 

102 

1914 

10.00 

100 

100 

40 

94 

94 

60 

91 

91 

100 

1915 

7.00 

70 

68 

25 

59 

57 

50 

75 

73 

103 

1916 

12.50 

125 

97 

48 

113 

88 

106 

160 

124 

129 

1917 

13.75 

138 

77 

69 

162 

90 

97 

146 

81 

180 

1918 

14.50 

145 

73 

59 

138 

70 

93 

140 

71 

198 

1919 

22.25 

223 

106 

94 

218 

104 

144 

218 

104 

210 

1920 

19.25 

193 

84 

102 

240 

104 

196 

296 

127 

230 

1921 

15.00 

150 

100 

57 

134 

89 

128 

193 

129 

150 

1922 

19.00 

190 

125 

85 

200 

131 

144 

218 

143 

152 

1923 

8.75 

88 

56 

27 

63 

40 

105 

158 

101 

156 

1924 

13.25 

133 

88 

59 

138 

91 

113 

170 

112 

152 

1925 

17.00 

170 

105 

59 

138 

85 

118 

178 

110 

162 

1926 

19.00 

190 

123 

70 

164 

106 

146 

220 

143 

154 

Sources  of  data: 

Col.  I,  Compiled  from  prices  paid  for  dried  apricots,  exclusive  of  off -grade 
stock,  by  large  commercial  packers  and  the  California  Prune  and  Apricot 
Growers'  Association.  There  is  usually  a  price  differential  of  at  least 
one  cent  per  pound  between  dried  apricots  from  the  Santa  Clara  district 
and  those  from  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  and  southern  California. 

Col.  IV,  Compiled  from  prices  paid  for  apricots  by  various  canneries. 
Prices  given  in  this  series  are  representative  of  the  average  prices  for 
the  state.  In  general,  prices  in  the  Santa  Clara  district,  which  includes 
the  counties  from  Contra  Costa  south  to  San  Benito,  were  from  5  to  15 
per  cent  higher  and  prices  in  the  other  producing  districts  were  from 
10  to  20  per  cent  lower  than  the  prices  given  in  this  series. 

Col.  VII,  Computed  by  subtracting  selling  charges  of  7  per  cent  and  trans- 
portation charges  given  in  table  14  and  15  from  New  York  and  Chicago 
auction  prices  which  were  obtained  from  the  following  sources:  Years 
1909-1916,  simple  average  of  daily  prices  compiled  from  the  California 
Fruit  News;  years  1917-1923,  weighted  average  prices  compiled  from 
the  New  York  Daily  Fruit  Eeporter  and  the  Chicago  Daily  Fruit  and 
Vegetable  Eeporter;  years  1924-1926,  weighted  average  prices  compiled 
by  the  California  Fruit  Exchange. 

Cols.  II,  V,  VIII,  Average  1910-1914  =  100. 

Cols.  Ill,  VI,  IX,  Relative  prices  deflated  by  the  all  commodity  index. 

Col.  X,  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  Index  converted  to  1910-1914  base 
published  in  The  Agricultural  Situation. 


42 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


TABLE  14 

Freight  Rates  on  Apricots  from  California  to  Chicago  and  New  York, 
1909-1926  (via  Ogden,  Utah) 


Chicago 

New  York 

100  lbs. 

Car 

Crate 

100  lbs. 

Car 

Crate 

1909 

$1.15 
1.15 
1.15 
1.845 

1.4832 
1.9776 
1.73 

$276.00 
276.00 
299.00 
307.97 
385.63 
514.18 
449.80 

$0,299 
0.299 
0.299 
0.308 
0.386 
0.514 
0.45 

$1.45 
1.40 
1.15 
1  1845 
1.4832 
1.9776 
1.73 

$348.00 
336.00 
299.00 
307.97 
385.63 
514.18 
449.80 

$0,377 

1910 

0.364 

June  8,  1911-Oct.  31,  1917 

0.299 

Nov.  1,  1917-June25,  1918* 

0.308 

June  25,  1918-Aug.  26,  1920* 

0.386 

Aug.  27,  1920-Dec.  31,  1921* 

0.514 

1922-1926 

0.45 

*  Includes  war  tax  of  3  per  cent. 

Sources  of  data:  Compiled  from  freight  tariffs.  Prior  to  June  8,  1911,  the 
minimum  freight  weight  was  24,000  pounds;  since  June  8,  1911,  it  has  been 
26,000  pounds.     The  billing  weight  of  an  apricot  crate  is  26  pounds. 


TABLE  15 

Eefrigeration  Eates  on  Apricots  from  Winter s-Vacaville  to  Chicago 
and  New  York,  1909-1926  (via  Ogden,  Utah) 


Chicago 

New  York 

Car 

Crate 

Car 

Crate 

1909-June  8,  1911 

$85.00 
85.00 
75.00 
77.25 
92.70 
90.00 

$  .092 
.085 
.075 
.077 
.093 
.09 

$97.50 
97.50 
87.50 
90.13 
108.15 
105.00 

$  .106 

Jan.  8,  1911-July  27,  1912 

.098 

July  27,  1912-Oct.  31,  1917 

.086 

1918-1919* 

.09 

1920-1921* 

.108 

1922-1926 

.105 

*  Includes  war  tax  of  3  per  cent. 

Sources  of  data:  Compiled  from  refrigeration  tariffs.  In  figuring  the  refriger- 
ation rate  per  crate,  the  number  of  crates  per  car  was  determined  by  the  minimum 
freight  weight  rather  than  by  the  minimum  refrigeration  weight.  (See  footnote, 
table  14.) 


STATION   PUBLICATIONS   AVAILABLE   FOR   FBEE    DISTRIBUTION 


BULLETINS 


No. 

253.   Irrigation   and   Soil   Conditions  in  the 
Sierra   Nevada   Foothills,    California. 

261.  Melaxuma    of    the    Walnut,     "Juglans 

regia." 

262.  Citrus  Diseases  of  Florida   and   Cuba 

Compared  with  Those  of  California. 

263.  Size   Grades  for  Ripe   Olives. 

268.   Growing  and  Grafting  Olive  Seedlings. 
273.  Preliminary  Report  on  Kearney  Vine- 
yard  Experimental   Drain. 

275.  The     Cultivation     of     Belladonna     in 

California. 

276.  The  Pomegranate. 

277.  Sudan    Grass. 

278.  Grain    Sorghums. 

279.  Irrigation   of  Rice  in   California. 
283.  The  Olive  Insects  of  California. 
294.  Bean   Culture  in   California. 

304.  A  Study  of  the  Effects  of  Freezes  on 

Citrus    in    California. 
310.  Plum    Pollination. 

312.  Mariout  Barley. 

313.  Pruning      Young      Deciduous      Fruit 

Trees. 
319.   Caprifigs    and    Caprification. 

324.  Storage  of  Perishable  Fruit  at  Freez- 

ing Temperatures. 

325.  Rice     Irrigation     Measurements     and 

Experiments    in    Sacramento    Valley, 

1914-1919. 
328.   Prune   Growing   in    California. 
331.   Phylloxera-Resistant    Stocks. 
335.   Cocoanut   Meal    as    a    Feed    for   Dairy 

Cows   and   Other  Livestock. 

339.  The    Relative    Cost    of    Making    Logs 

from   Small   and  Large  Timber. 

340.  Control     of     the     Pocket     Gopher     in 

California. 

343.  Cheese    Pests    and    Their    Control. 

344.  Cold    Storage   as    an   Aid   to    the   Mar- 

keting of  Plums. 

346.  Almond    Pollination. 

347.  The  Control  of  Red  Spiders  in  Decid- 

uous Orchards. 

348.  Pruning  Young  Olive  Trees. 

349.  A     Study    of     Sidedraft    and    Tractor 

Hitches. 

350.  Agriculture      in      Cut-over      Redwood 

Lands. 

352.  Further  Experiments  in  Plum  Pollina- 

tion. 

353.  Bovine   Infectious   Abortion. 

354.  Results  of  Rice  Experiments  in   1922. 

357.  A     Self-mixing    Dusting    Machine    for 

Applying      Dry       Insecticides       and 
Fungicides. 

358.  Black    Measles,     Water    Berries,     and 

Related  Vine  Troubles. 

361.  Preliminary    Yield   Tables    for    Second 

Growth   Redwood. 

362.  Dust   and  the  Tractor   Engine. 

363.  The  Pruning  of  Citrus  Trees  in  Cali- 

fornia. 

364.  Fungicidal    Dusts    for    the    Control    of 

Bunt. 

365.  Avocado  Culture  in  California. 

366.  Turkish  Tobacco  Culture,   Curing  and 

Marketing. 

367.  Methods  of  Harvesting  and  Irrigation 

in   Relation  of  Mouldy  Walnuts. 

368.  Bacterial  Decomposition  of  Olives  dur- 

ing Pickling. 

369.  Comparison     of     Woods     for     Butter 

Boxes. 


No. 

370. 

371. 

372. 

373. 
374. 


375. 

376. 

377. 
379. 
380. 

381. 

382. 

383. 

385. 
386. 

387. 
388. 

389. 
390. 

391. 

392. 
393. 
394. 

S95. 
396. 

397. 

398. 


400. 
401. 

402. 
403. 
404. 
405. 
406. 
407. 


408. 
409. 


410. 
411. 
412. 

413. 
414. 


Browning  of  Yellow  Newtown  Apples. 
The    Relative    Cost    of    Yarding    Small 

and   Large  Timber. 
The  Cost  of  Producing  Market  Milk  and 

Butterfat  on  246  California  Dairies. 
Pear    Pollination. 
A  Survey  of  Orchard  Practices  in  the 

Citrus    Industry  of    Southern    Cali- 
fornia. 
Results   of   Rice   Experiments   at   Cor- 

tena,    1923. 
Sun-Drying  and  Dehydration  of  Wal- 
nuts. 
The   Cold   Storage   of   Pears. 
Walnut   Culture   in   California. 
Growth    of    Eucalyptus    in    California 

Plantations. 
Growing     and     Handling     Asparagus 

Crowns. 
Pumping    for    Drainage    in    the    San 

Joaquin    Valley,    California. 
Monilia  Blossom  Blight    (Brown  Rot) 

of  Apricot. 
Pollination    of   the    Sweet    Cherry. 
Pruning     Bearing     Deciduous     Fruit 

Trees. 
Fig   Smut. 
The   Principles    and   Practice   of    Sun^ 

drying  Fruit. 
Berseem  or  Egyptian   Clover. 
Harvesting    and    Packing    Grapes    in 

California. 
Machines  for  Coating  Seed  Wheat  with 

Copper    Carbonate    Dust. 
Fruit    Juice    Concentrates. 
Crop  Sequences  at  Davis. 
Cereal   Hay  Production   in   California. 

Feeding  Trials  with  Cereal  Hay. 
Bark  Diseases   of   Citrus  Trees. 
The    Mat    Bean    (Phaseolus    aconitifo- 

lius). 
Manufacture   of  Roquefort  Type  Cheese 

from   Goat's   Milk. 
Orchard  Heating  in  California. 
The    Blackberry    Mite,    the    Cause    of 

Redberry    Disease    of    the    Himalaya 

Blackberry,    and   its   Control. 
The  Utilization  of  Surplus  Plums. 
Cost    of    Work    Horses    on    California 


The  Codling  Moth  in  Walnuts. 

Farm-Accounting  Associations. 

The  Dehydration  of  Prunes. 

Citrus  Culture  in  Central  California. 

Stationary  Spray  Plants  in  California. 

Yield,  Stand  and  Volume  Tables  for 
White  Fir  in  the  California  Pine 
Region. 

Alternaria  Rot  of  Lemons. 

The  Digestibility  of  Certain  Fruit  By- 
products as  Determined  for  Rumi- 
nants. 

Factors  Affecting  the  Quality  of  Fresh 
Asparagus  after  it  is  Harvested. 

Paradichlorobenzene  as  a  Soil  Fumi- 
gant. 

A  Study  of  the  Relative  Values  of  Cer- 
tain Root  Crops  and  Salmon  Oil  as 
Sources  of  Vitamin  A  for  Poultry. 

The  California  Poultry  Industry;  a 
Statistical   Study. 

Planting  and  Thinning  Distances  for 
Deciduous  Fruit  Trees. 


CIRCULARS 


No. 

87.  Alfalfa. 
117.  The    Selection    and    Cost    of    a    Small 

Pumping   Plant. 
127.  House    Fumigation. 
129.  The   Control  of  Citrus   Insects. 
136.  Melilotus    indica    as    a    Green-Manure 

Crop  for  California. 
144.   Oidium    or    Powdery    Mildew    of    the 

Vine. 
157.   Control  of  the  Pear  Scab. 
160.  Lettuce  Growing  in  California. 
164.    Small  Fruit  Culture  in  California. 
166.  The   County  Farm  Bureau. 
170.   Fertilizing     California     Soils     for     the 

1918   Crop. 
173.  The    Construction    of    the    Wood-Hoop 

Silo. 

178.  The   Packing  of  Apples  in   California. 

179.  Factors    of    Importance    in    Producing 

Milk  of  Low  Bacterial  Count. 
190.  Agriculture  Clubs  in  California. 
199.   Onion    Growing   in    California. 

202.  County   Organizations   for   Rural   Fire 

Control. 

203.  Peat   as   a   Manure   Substitute. 

209.  The  Function  of  the  Farm  Bureau. 

210.  Suggestions  to  the  Settler  in  California. 
212.   Salvaging    Rain-Damaged    Prunes. 
215.   Feeding  Dairy  Cows  in  California. 
217.  Methods   for   Marketing  Vegetables   in 

California. 
220.   Unfermented   Fruit  Juices. 
228.  Vineyard  Irrigation  in  Arid  Climates. 

230.  Testing  Milk,    Cream,    and   Skim   Milk 

for  Butterfat. 

231.  The    Home    Vineyard. 

232.  Harvesting    and    Handling    California 

Cherries    for    Eastern    Shipment. 

234.  Winter  Injury  to  Young  Walnut  Trees 

during  1921-22. 

235.  Soil     Analysis     and     Soil     and     Plant 

Inter-relations. 

236.  The    Common    Hawks    and    Owls    of 

California    from    the    Standpoint    of 
the  Rancher. 

237.  Directions  for  the  Tanning  and  Dress- 

ing of  Furs. 

238.  The  Apricot  in  California. 

239.  Harvesting     and     Handling     Apricots 

and  Plums  for  Eastern  Shipment. 

240.  Harvesting    and    Handling    Pears    for 

Eastern   Shipment. 

241.  Harvesting  and  Handling  Peaches  for 

Eastern   Shipment. 
243.  Marmalade  Juice  and  Jelly  Juice  from 

Citrus  Fruits. 
244    Central  Wire  Bracing  for  Fruit  Trees. 
245.  Vine   Pruning   Systems. 

247.  Colonization    and   Rural   Development. 

248.  Some   Common    Errors    in    Vine  Prun- 

ing and  Their  Remedies. 

249.  Replacing    Missing    Vines. 

250.  Measurement   of    Irrigation   Water   on 

the  Farm. 

252.  Supports  for  Vines. 

253.  Vineyard  Plans. 

254.  The  Use  of  Artificial  Light  to  Increase 

Winter    Egg    Production. 


No. 

255.  Leguminous  Plants  as  Organic  Fertil- 

izer   in    California    Agriculture. 

256.  The   Control   of  Wild   Morning   Glory. 

257.  The  Small-Seeded  Horse  Bean. 

258.  Thinning   Deciduous   Fruits. 

259.  Pear  By-products. 

261.  Sewing  Grain  Sacks. 

262.  Cabbage  Growing  in   California. 

263.  Tomato  Production  in   California. 

264.  Preliminary      Essentials      to      Bovine 

Tuberculosis  Control. 

265.  Plant   Disease   and   Pest   Control. 

266.  Analyzing     the     Citrus     Orchard     by 

Means   of    Simple   Tree   Records. 

267.  The  Tendency  of  Tractors  to   Riso  in 

Front;    Causes   and   Remedies. 

269.  An  Orchard  Brush  Burner. 

270.  A  Farm  Septic  Tank. 

272.  California  Farm  Tenancy  and  Methods 

of  Leasing. 

273.  Saving  the   Gophered   Citrus  Tree. 

274.  Fusarium  Wilt  of  Tomato  and  its  Con- 

trol by  Means  of  Resistant  Varieties. 

276.  Home  Canning. 

277.  Head,    Cane,    and   Cordon   Pruning  of 

Vines. 

278.  Olive  Pickling  in  Mediterranean  Coun- 

tries. 

279.  The  Preparation  and  Refining  of  Olive 

Oil   in    Southern    Europe. 

281.  The  Results  of  a  Survey  to  Determine 

the  Cost  of  Producing  Beef  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

282.  Prevention  of  Insect  Attack  on  Stored 

Grain. 

283.  Fertilizing  Citrus  Trees  in  California. 

284.  The   Almond   in   California. 

285.  Sweet  Potato  Production  in  California. 

286.  Milk  Houses  for  California  Dairies. 

287.  Potato   Production   in   California. 

288.  Phylloxera  Resistant  Vineyards. 

289.  Oak  Fungus  in  Orchard  Trees. 

290.  The  Tangier  Pea. 

291.  Blackhead  and   Other   Causes  of  Loss 

of  Turkeys  in   California. 

292.  Alkali  Soils. 

293.  The    Basis    of   Grape    Standardization. 

294.  Propagation   of   Deciduous   Fruits. 

295.  The   Growing   and   Handling  of   Head 

Lettuce  in   California. 

296.  Control     of     the     California     Ground 

Squirrel. 

298.  The    Possibilities    and    Limitations    of 

Cooperative  Marketing. 

299.  Poultry  Breeding   Records. 

300.  Coccidiosis  of  Chickens. 

301.  Buckeye  Poisoning  of  the  Honey  Bee. 

302.  The   Sugar  Beet  in   California. 

303.  A  Promising  Remedy  for  Black  Measles 

of  the  Vine. 

304.  Drainage  on   the  Farm. 

305.  Liming  the  Soil. 

306.  A  General  Purpose  Soil  Auger  and  its 

Use  on  the  Farm. 

307.  American   Foulbrood   and  its   Control. 

308.  Cantaloupe  Production  in  California. 


The  publications  listed  above  may  be  had  by  addressing 

College  of  Agriculture, 

University  of  California, 

Berkeley,  California. 


17m-7,'27 


